Proverbiorum 20
1 Luxuriosa res, vinum, et tumultuosa ebrietas: quicumque his delectatur, non erit sapiens.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever errs thereby is not wise.
2 Sicut rugitus leonis, ita et terror regis: qui provocat eum, peccat in animam suam.
The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion. He who provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3 Honor est homini, qui separat se a contentionibus: omnes autem stulti miscentur contumeliis.
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarrelling.
4 Propter frigus piger arare noluit: mendicabit ergo æstate, et non dabitur illi.
The sluggard will not plow because of the winter. Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
5 Sicut aqua profunda, sic consilium in corde viri: sed homo sapiens exhauriet illud.
Purpose in the heart of man is deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.
6 Multi homines misericordes vocantur: virum autem fidelem quis inveniet?
Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find?
7 Iustus, qui ambulat in simplicitate sua, beatos post se filios derelinquet.
A righteous man who walks in his integrity, blessed are his sons after him.
8 Rex, qui sedet in solio iudicii, dissipat omne malum intuitu suo.
A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.
9 Quis potest dicere: Mundum est cor meum, purus sum a peccato?
Who can say, I have made my heart clean. I am pure from my sin?
10 Pondus et pondus, mensura et mensura: utrumque abominabile est apud Deum.
Diverse weights, and diverse measures, both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
11 Ex studiis suis intelligitur puer, si munda et recta sint opera eius.
Even a child makes himself known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 Aurem audientem, et oculum videntem, Dominus fecit utrumque.
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Jehovah has made even both of them.
13 Noli diligere somnum, ne te egestas opprimat: aperi oculos tuos, et saturare panibus.
Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty. Open thine eyes, and thou shall be satisfied with bread.
14 Malum est, malum est, dicit omnis emptor: et cum recesserit, tunc gloriabitur.
It is bad, it is bad, says the buyer, but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
15 Est aurum, et multitudo gemmarum: et vas pretiosum labia scientiæ.
There is gold, and abundance of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Tolle vestimentum eius, qui fideiussor extitit alieni, et pro extraneis aufer pignus ab eo.
Take his garment who is surety for a stranger, and hold him in pledge for foreigners.
17 Suavis est homini panis mendacii: et postea implebitur os eius calculo.
Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
18 Cogitationes consiliis roborantur: et gubernaculis tractanda sunt bella.
Every purpose is established by counsel, and by wise guidance make thou war.
19 Ei, qui revelat mysteria, et ambulat fraudulenter, et dilatat labia sua, ne commiscearis.
He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets. Therefore do not associate with him who opens wide his lips.
20 Qui maledicit patri suo, et matri, extinguetur lucerna eius in mediis tenebris.
He who curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21 Hereditas, ad quam festinatur in principio, in novissimo benedictione carebit.
An inheritance gotten hastily at the beginning shall not be blessed in the end.
22 Ne dicas: Reddam malum: expecta Dominum, et liberabit te.
Say thou not, I will recompense evil. Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.
23 Abominatio est apud Dominum pondus et pondus: statera dolosa non est bona.
Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah, and a false balance is not good.
24 A Domino diriguntur gressus viri: quis autem hominum intelligere potest viam suam?
A man's goings are of Jehovah, how then can man understand his way?
25 Ruina est homini devorare sanctos, et post vota retractare.
It is a snare to a man to say rashly, It is holy. And to make inquiry after vows.
26 Dissipat impios rex sapiens, et incurvat super eos fornicem.
A wise king winnows the wicked, and brings the wheel over them.
27 Lucerna Domini spiraculum hominis, quæ investigat omnia secreta ventris.
The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all his innermost parts.
28 Misericordia, et veritas custodiunt regem, et roboratur clementia thronus eius.
Kindness and truth preserve the king, and his throne is upheld by kindness.
29 Exultatio iuvenum, fortitudo eorum: et dignitas senum canities.
The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is the hoary head.
30 Livor vulneris absterget mala: et plagæ in secretioribus ventris.
Stripes that wound cleanse away evil, and strokes, the innermost parts.
